AUBURN - The Auburn High School boys lacrosse team controlled the third quarter of play for the second consecutive game and ran its winning streak to three games with an 11-8 win over Oswego at Holland Stadium on Thursday.

The Maroons (4-6) outscored the Bucs 5-1 in the third quarter to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 9-7 lead. This outburst came two days after a 7-1 third-quarter surge propelled Auburn to a win over Central Square.

If you see the glass as half-full, Auburn is a fantastic team coming out of the halftime intermission. If you're of the half-empty mind-set, you wonder why the team hasn't played that well for the first 24 minutes.

"It wasn't adjustments that we made," Auburn coach Steve Crosby explained. "We talked a lot this season about playing with passion, and I thought our first half, again, was inconsistent. We weren't communicating the way we typically do. We weren't doing fundamental lacrosse things that you need to do to be successful."

The teams traded goals early in the third quarter to make the score 7-5 in favor of Oswego, before the Maroons scored the next six goals in the game.

Three goals in that span were extra-man opportunities, as the visiting Buccaneers continued to take penalties. Late hits, slashes, unnecessary roughness, and an illegal stick were some of the calls assessed against Oswego.

"At the varsity level, everybody's good and it's all about the mental," Auburn senior defender Pat Hovey said. "It's who keeps their head in the game and who keeps things under control. We kept it and I thought Oswego didn't. Oswego's a good team, but they lost it at the end of the game."

While the Maroons' man-up offense didn't match its 80 percent efficiency from the Central Square win on Tuesday, it got enough goals, and also kept the ball away from the Bucs. Brian Hoey, Matt Malenick, and Matt Chadderdon scored on man-up during the six-goal run. Joe Taylor and Jake Conway also tallied, and Malenick's third goal of the afternoon wrapped up the scoring.

Jake Conway and Jack Redmond finished the game with a goal and two assists.

"I thought as the game went on, Oswego got frustrated with some situations and responded in a manner that gave us some opportunities," Crosby said. "Our team did a great job of capitalizing on those sorts of scenarios."

Oswego coach Doc Nelson wasn't frustrated with the officiating, he was frustrated with his team's discipline.

"There were one or two calls that I might have questioned, but I can't say they were bad calls; they just looked funny," he said. "We've talked about it. We just have some stubborn individuals."

Auburn dominated possession time in the second half, but when Oswego had the ball Carl Festa, Andy Kott, and Pat Hovey led an Auburn defensive effort that limited the Bucs to just two shots on goal in the second half. John Mauro, Adam Clarey, and Brad O'Dell also came through with strong defensive performances.

"Our close defense just took over in the second half," Crosby said. "They were aggressive, put the ball down on the ground, and did a phenomenal job."

Auburn built a 3-1 lead with 7:34 remaining in the first half, but the Bucs went on a 5-1 run before the break. Matt Russell had three goals for Oswego and Baylen Stoker made 11 saves. Auburn goalie Pat Cameron stopped three Oswego shots.

The Maroons look to maintain their momentum on Saturday evening with a game at Watertown IHC. The team's goal was to finish the week undefeated, and they're two-thirds of the way there.

"We're trying to get our third win," Andy Kott said. "We're all sticking to hard work and playing with passion, trying to stick to our fundamentals and not make stupid mistakes. We just want to keep playing hard, and that's how we'll win."